Paul Merson believes Southampton could be in serious danger of shipping 10 goals against Manchester City this weekend.
Saints lost 3-1 to the champions of England on Tuesday night as they were eliminated from the Carabao Cup at the round of 16 stage.
However, just days before, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men were condemned to one of the most humiliating defeats in top-flight history, as Leicester City defeated them 9-0 at St Mary’s Stadium.
Manchester City hold the record for the second-biggest win in the Premier League this season having already put Watford to the sword in an 8-0 thrashing.
Merson, writing in his column for Sky Sports, made a grave prediction for Southampton ahead of their second trip to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. He said:
The last thing you want is Man City away twice in a week. Some people might say they’d rather that than playing against a lesser team, but not me.
Southampton were that bad against Leicester, and I’m not being horrible, but if Man City get going, that record is in danger. How many times have you seen Man City play and after the game gone ‘they could have won that 10-0’. They only have to have a game where they start finishing all their chances and Southampton are in trouble.
There are ways of losing football matches and Friday was as embarrassing as it gets. You know it’s embarrassing because the players have given their money to charity, which fair play to them, is a good move. But it’s not going to get away from the stigma of having a record that will probably last for a long time.
Read Southampton’s verdict
It’s hard to disagree with Merson here. Obviously, Saints stand very little chance at City on Saturday, but it does have the potential to get rather embarrassing once again for the club.
Keeping the scoreline respectable, as the team did in the cup clash, will probably be the priority, but it’s easier said than done.
All that fans will ask is to see a Southampton side fighting for every first, second and third ball, and one that does not capitulate in the fashion that they did on Friday.
